NCERT Solutions Class 12, English, Kaliedoscope, Poerty, Chapter- 5, Trees
Responding to the Poem
1. What imagery does the poet use to delineate Summer’s day more picturesquely than any painter could?
Solution:
The poet uses the imagery of psaltery to delineate the summer’s day more picturesquely than a painter could. The insects humming, the chirping birds, and the wind playing through the leaves- all give a musical beauty to this perfect summer day. The splendid display of flowers and clouds along with the mesmerizing scents of flowers adds to this perfect day’s charm.
2. What do you understand by ‘Psalteries of Summer’?
Solution:
The poet uses the metaphor of ‘Psalteries of summer’ to describe the extraordinary musical charms of a perfect summer day. The poet is captivated by the natural music which comes from the chirping birds, the rapid beating of wings by bees and gnats, and the sound of the wind flowing through the air and trees.
3. In which lines are creatures attributed with human qualities? How does this add to the beauty of the Summer’s day?
Solution:
In the following lines, the creatures are attributed human qualities:
In the first stanza,
‘The Trees like Tassels hit – and – swung ……Accompanying the Sun –’
Here in these lines, the poet says about the ‘Tune’ formed by mini creatures in the sun and tree branches swinging in the air as the tune hits their ears. The poet refers to creatures like bees and gnats as ‘Miniature Creatures’ which fill the air with a satisfying tone of music with their humming and beating of wings. The dancing of the tree compared to that of humans dancing to celebrate their happiness. Likewise, small insects and birds dance to the tunes of music heard by trees.
In the fifth stanza,
‘A Bird sat carelessly on the fence …Just winding round a Stone’
Here in these lines, a bird is compared to a village woman sitting by the side of a fence gossiping on a bright sunny day. The bird sits carelessly on the fence and chirps without any worries. The snake is attracted to the bird as he has been charmed by the ‘silver gossip’.
4. How would you explain the image of the ‘Hindered Flags’?
Solution:
The poet uses the ‘Hindered Flags’ image to portray the beauty of flowers that stand on their stems with petals full of aroma, having not bloomed fully. But, to dance like a tree, they have to bloom fully. So, before they could bloom, they had to slit open the tough green calyx. Hence, the ‘Hindered Flags’ represents flowers that have not bloomed fully.
5. Why are the pronouns referring to the Sun capitalised?
Solution:
The pronouns referring to the Sun are capitalised because the poet represents the Sun as eternal. The Sun is highlighted here, which is an essential aspect of everyone’s life. Without sunlight, nothing survives. So, everything which stays on this earth requires the Sun. The Sun sometimes shines wholly, and it is half or sometimes fully hidden behind the clouds to protect him from the mortal gaze.
6. Give examples from the poem to show that great poetry is a result of close observation of natural phenomena.
Solution:
Emily Dickenson made a keen observation of natural phenomena and used them in her poems to great effect. In the poem, “Trees”, she describes how the branches and leaves wave in the morning breeze during summer. Miniature creatures start humming tunes when the sun rises.
The sun appears from and disappears behind thick clouds. Birds sit carelessly on the fence or chirp in the lanes. A snake winds around a stove for warmth. Petals of the buds slit open their calyxes and blossom into flowers. These examples in the poem show that great poetry is a result of close observation of natural phenomena.
Language Study
You came across ‘dulcimer’ in the poem ‘Kubla Khan’. Did you note down ‘Psaltery’ as another musical instrument? They are very similar. Look up the illustrations for the two in an illustrated dictionary. Find out in what ways they are different from one another.
Solution:
Dulcimer and Psaltery are both stringed musical instruments that belong to the Zither family. Both these instruments vary in their shapes and sizes. A Psaltery is generally triangular, rectangular, or wing-shaped with plucked stings across a flat soundboard while a Dulcimer has three or four fretted strings and is generally diatonic.
